Receipt visualization and receipt data applications

ABSTRACT

Visually presenting spending behavior, spending patterns, and spending activity to a consumer across of their all receipt based purchase transactions. Receipt data is received at a first or host computer from respective transaction processing devices or host systems of respective merchants, or received from self-service action of the consumer, and identifies respective goods or services purchased by the consumer. A user interface is displayed to the consumer and comprises a thumbnail arrangement of discrete objects, each of which represents respective receipts generated by respective transaction or transaction processing devices. A discrete object may comprise data of one or multiple goods or services and includes category indicators that visually inform the consumer about the type of good or service. Embodiments may also involve requesting receipt data utilizing a mobile communication device, searching receipt data collected by the computer and responding to the request with requested receipt data.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/286,101, filed Oct. 31, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/609,922, filed Oct. 30, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No.8,095,439, issued Jan. 10, 2012, priority of all of which is claimedunder 35 U.S.C. §120 and 37 C.F.R. 1.78(a), and the contents of all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The invention is generally related to personal finance, and moreparticularly, to item level receipt data, managing item level receiptdata and item level receipt data applications. Consumers utilize variousforms of payment to pay for goods and services including credit card,debit card, automated teller machine (ATM) card, check, automatedclearing house (ACH) wire and cash. Certain transactions are debitedfrom consumer bank accounts. For example, a checking or savings accountmay be debited when a consumer utilizes a debit card to purchase a goodor service. Goods and services are also paid for by credit card. Creditcard transactions appear as line items in credit card accounts.

For certain types of transactions, consumers can access their respectiveon-line accounts to view certain transaction information and statements.However, the transaction information that is available is ratherlimited. For example, such information may be limited to merchant name,transaction amount and transaction date. Further, this information ispresented to the consumer in a single line item format. Thus,additional, lower level or item level receipt details are not availablesince such information is not accessible from a bank account or creditcard account, and if consumers need to view older transaction data thatdoes not appear in a current statement, one or more prior statementsmust be downloaded and transaction entries must be searched before oldertransactions can be reviewed. This can be inconvenient and timeconsuming.

Other systems, e.g., systems of AfterBot, Inc. and as described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,552,087, collect receipt data from the individual merchantsfrom whom goods and services were purchased. Consumers can accesscollected receipt data by viewing it on a particular web site withoutlogging onto an on-line bank or credit card account. Such systems,however, have limited capabilities, functionality and user interfacessuch that consumers are not able to readily obtain a visual snapshot ofspending patterns and receipt data. Further, depending on the types ofinformation that are available, consumers may be required to visitindividual merchant sites in order to view receipts or receipt data.

SUMMARY

One embodiment is directed to a method of visually presenting spendingactivity or receipt data to a consumer. The method comprises receiving,at a first computer, receipt data from respective transaction processingdevices of respective merchants. The respective receipt data identifiespurchases of respective goods or services by the consumer fromrespective merchants. The method further comprises generating, with areceipt program that executes on the first computer or a computerassociated with the first computer, a user interface comprising athumbnail arrangement of a plurality of discrete objects. The discreteobjects represent respective receipts or receipt data generated byrespective payment or transaction processing devices of respectivemerchants. Each discrete object comprises data related to at least onegood or service purchased by the consumer from a merchant. The methodfurther comprises transmitting data of the thumbnail arrangement fromthe first computer to a second computer of the consumer such that thethumbnail arrangement can be displayed by the second computer to theconsumer.

A further embodiment is directed to a method of providing informationabout a purchased good or service to a consumer. The method comprisesstoring, at a computer, respective receipt data received from respectivetransaction processing devices of respective merchants. The respectivereceipt data identifies purchases of respective goods or services by theconsumer from respective merchants. The method further comprisesutilizing a receipt program executing on the computer or an associatedcomputer to search stored receipt data, selecting stored receipt dataand/or advertisements and offers in response to the request, and sendingselected receipt data and/or advertisements and offers from the computerto a mobile communication device, e.g., a cellular telephone or asmartphone. This allows the consumer to search for and receive receiptdata, including lower level or item level receipt data, at variousremote locations utilizing a mobile communication device.

A further embodiment is directed to a system for visually presentingspending activity, patterns or receipts to a consumer. The systemcomprises a first or host computer and a receipt program that executeson the computer. The first computer is operably coupled to or incommunication with a second computer of a consumer and with payment ortransaction processing devices of respective merchants. The firstcomputer is operable or configured to receive receipt data directly orindirectly from respective transaction processing devices of respectivemerchants via respective networks. The respective receipt dataidentifies purchases of respective goods or services by the consumerfrom respective merchants. The receipt program is operable or configuredto generate a user interface comprising a thumbnail arrangement of aplurality of discrete objects that represent respective receipts orreceipt data generated by respective transaction processing devices.Each discrete object comprises data related to at least one good orservice purchased by the consumer from a particular merchant. Thereceipt program is also operable or configured to transmit data of thethumbnail arrangement from the first or host computer to the second orconsumer computer, and the thumbnail arrangement is displayed by thesecond computer to the consumer.

Another embodiment is directed to a system for providing informationabout a purchased good or service to a consumer and comprises a computerand a receipt program that executes on the computer. The computer isoperably coupled to or in communication with transaction processingdevices of respective merchants via respective networks and a mobilecommunication device, e.g., a cellular telephone or a smartphone. Thecomputer is operable or configured to receive and store respectivereceipt data from respective transaction processing devices ofrespective merchants and/or related advertisements and offers. Therespective receipt data identifies purchases of respective goods orservices by the consumer from respective merchants. The receipt programis operable or configured to search stored receipt data, select storedreceipt data and/or advertisements and offers, and send selected receiptdata and/or advertisements and offers from the computer to a mobilecommunication device, e.g., a mobile communication device of a consumerwho purchased the good or service.

Another embodiment is directed to an article of manufacture comprising acomputer program carrier readable by a computer and embodying one ormore instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps forvisually presenting a spending summary, spending activity or receipts toa consumer. The method steps comprise receiving, at a first or hostcomputer, respective receipt data from respective transaction processingdevices of respective merchants. The respective receipt data identifiespurchases of respective goods or services by the consumer fromrespective merchants. The method steps further comprise generating auser interface comprising a thumbnail arrangement of a plurality ofdiscrete objects that represent respective receipts generated byrespective transaction processing devices, each discrete objectcomprising data that is related to at least one good or servicepurchased by the consumer from a merchant, and transmitting data of thethumbnail arrangement from the first computer to a second computer ofthe consumer such that the thumbnail arrangement can be displayed by thesecond computer to the consumer.

Another embodiment is directed to an article of manufacture comprising acomputer program carrier readable by a computer and embodying one ormore instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps forproviding information about a good or service to a consumer. The methodsteps comprise receiving and storing respective receipt data fromrespective transaction processing devices of respective merchants,searching stored receipt data, selecting stored receipt data and sendingselected receipt data from the computer to a mobile communicationdevice, e.g., a cellular telephone or smartphone.

In one or more embodiments, a user interface generated by a receiptprogram comprises a first window including the thumbnail arrangement ofthe plurality of discrete objects, a second window comprising a list ofmerchants that generated receipts represented as discrete objects, and athird window comprising a list of categories, which may be automaticallydetermined and assigned to discrete objects and goods or services ormanually created and assigned. Further, in one or more embodiments, auser interface includes a first field for a total number of receiptsrepresented by discrete objects, a second field for a total number ofitems purchased, and third field for a total amount of the receipts, andthe discrete objects are separated from the first field, the secondfield and the third field. This arrangement provides a snapshot ordashboard view or summary of consumer spending to allow the consumer toquickly visualize spending activity and to identify spending patternswhile providing particular details regarding spending and receipts. Asearch field or window may allow a consumer to search for receipt datasuch as item level receipt data (e.g., product description, item number,etc.) hosted by the first or host computer.

In one or more embodiments, one or more discrete objects represent areceipt that was generated as a result of the consumer purchasing a goodor service with a transaction card such as a credit card, a debit cardor a gift card. The receipt may also be a receipt that was generated bythe consumer paying cash for a good or service. Receipt data may betransmitted directly from a transaction processing device of a merchant,from a third party or intermediate computer that collects receipt datafrom merchants, and/or from a consumer. For example, the consumer mayscan a paper receipt and send the scanned receipt to the host computeror forward an electronic mail receipt to the host computer for inclusionin a receipt database.

In one or more embodiments, a discrete object representing a receipt isconfigured or selectable by the consumer such that when the discreteobject is selected, additional information about one or multiple goodsor services to which that receipt relates is presented to the consumer.For example, the additional information may include an account number ofa transaction card (e.g., credit or debit card), a store membership cardor a rewards card that was utilized during the purchase of the good orservice that that may be utilized to identify the consumer. Theadditional information may also include lower level or item levelreceipt data related to the good or service such as one or more of anindicator of a category of the good or service, a name, a description, amodel or part number and an identification of the good or service.

In one or more embodiments, the discrete objects include an indicator ofa category of a good or service to which the corresponding receiptrelates (e.g., a color-coded or symbol indicator). Additionalinformation that is displayed as a result of selecting a discrete objectmay also include a category such as a color-coded or symbol indicator toindicate, for example, whether a certain purchase is tax deductible,important to the consumer, related to certain types of goods or services(e.g., business, home, healthcare, etc.). Categories may also identify aparticular brand. The categories may be automatically assigned by areceipt program or other program upon receiving the receipt data fromrespective merchants, e.g., based on a merchant name and/or adescription or identifier of a good or service. Categories may also becreated and selected by a consumer or user of the receipt program, e.g.,when the consumer logs into his or her receipt account utilizing areceipt program.

Discrete objects may also include a merchant logo to identify the storefrom which a good or service was purchased, which assists with visuallyidentifying spending activity or patterns. In one or more embodiments,discrete objects include a name or logo of a merchant, a transactionamount and a transaction date. Discrete objects may also include anumber of days within which a purchased good can be returned to themerchant, and the return date can be based on the transaction date andthe merchant or store return policy.

Embodiments may involve a discrete object that represents a receipt fora single good or service or for multiple goods or services. Further, adiscrete object may include one or multiple category indicators but notidentify a particular good or service, but additional details regardingparticular goods or services may be obtained by selecting a particulardiscrete object. Embodiments may involve all receipt-based purchases bythe consumers (whether by transaction card, cash or other forms ofpayment), and discrete objects representing receipts for all of thesepurchases can be displayed in a thumbnail arrangement, and item levelreceipt data can be searchable by the consumer, e.g., by name, a modelor a description of the good or service. Category indicators can also beselected to identify or display the discrete objects or particular goodsor services that are categorized in that manner.

One or more embodiments may also involve providing receipt data to amobile communication device, e.g., a cellular telephone or smartphone.Such data may be sent to the mobile communication device in response toa consumer request for such information. For example, such embodimentsmay involve the consumer inputting a request for data related to aproduct or service that was purchased, transmitting the request from themobile communication device to a computer that hosts receipt data,executing a receipt program to search the receipt data at the computer,select receipt data in response to the request, and send selectedreceipt data from the computer to the mobile communication device. Forexample, the requested data may be or related to item level receipt datasuch as a model number or a purchase date of the good or service orother item level receipt data such as a name, a description, a model orpart number, an identification of the good or service, a name of amerchant, a transaction date, or a return or warranty period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other aspects of embodiments are described in furtherdetail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1A-C illustrate embodiments of a system constructed according toembodiments for visually presenting receipt or spending data to aconsumer through a thumbnail arrangement of discrete objects thatrepresent respective receipts, wherein FIG. 1A illustrates a hostcomputer receiving data from merchants and a receipt program executingon the host computer, FIG. 1B illustrates data communication protocolsand communications between certain system components that may beutilized, and FIG. 1C illustrates an embodiment in which a host computerreceives receipt data indirectly from merchants and from an intermediatereceipt data collection system or computer;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of visually presenting receipt orspending data to a consumer through a thumbnail arrangement of discreteobjects that represent respective receipts;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of how a database of a host computer maybe structured to store receipt data;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a thumbnail arrangement of discreteobjects that represent respective receipts;

FIG. 5 illustrates item level receipt data that is presented to aconsumer upon selecting a discrete object;

FIGS. 6A-L are screen shots of embodiments illustrating differentthumbnail arrangements of discrete objects representing respectivereceipts;

FIG. 7 illustrates a system constructed according to one embodiment forsearching for receipt data at a host computer utilizing a mobilecommunication device;

FIGS. 8A-I illustrates different pages, screens or menus that aregenerated by an application executing on a mobile communication deviceto allow a consumer to search for receipt data at a host computer;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a method for searching forreceipt data at a host computer utilizing a mobile communication device;and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of components of a computing apparatus orsystem in which various embodiments may be implemented or that may beutilized to execute various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments are directed to processing and presenting receipt data,including lower level item level receipt data, to a consumer to allowthe consumer to visually obtain a summary or snapshot of the receiptsand consumer spending. With embodiments, receipt data is collected fromvarious merchants, aggregated, and presented to respective consumers inthe form of respective arrangement of discrete objects.

Each discrete object represents a receipt and may, for example, includea merchant logo or other identifier, transaction amount, and transactiondate. Thus, consumers are presented with a visual arrangement ofdiscrete objects that, e.g., indicate how many times the consumer wentto a particular merchant as shown by a number of discrete objects(number of receipts), a total number of items purchased and total amountspent. A consumer, through pattern recognition, and without having toread certain receipt details, can quickly comprehend spending activitiesand patterns by viewing a snapshot of spending, frequency of purchases,merchant and brand purchasing frequency, return timeframes, spendingwithin certain periods of times or during certain months and spendingamounts. Clicking on or selecting a discrete object opens the discreteobject such that the consumer can then view lower level or item leveldetails (e.g., product name, model or item number, barcode information,form of payment, etc.) of goods or services that were purchased andreflected in the receipt represented by the selected discrete object.

In addition to providing a thumbnail arrangement of discrete objects forspending or receipt visualization and pattern recognition, embodimentsalso provide for a multi-level categorization for money managementpurposes such that categories of goods of services of a receipt may bedisplayed in a discrete object that represents a receipt, and clickingon or selecting a discrete object displays item level receipt data andthe particular categories assigned to specific goods or services. Thus,with embodiments, consumers are presented with a first level ordashboard or snapshot categorized spending and a second or more detaileditem level spending summary that also includes category information.Category indicators can also be selected to display all of the discreteobjects or receipts that are assigned to the selected category.

Further, embodiments provide for mobile lookup of receipt data. In theseembodiments, an application may execute on a mobile communicationdevice, and a consumer launches the application to log into a receiptdatabase or receipt management system through the mobile communicationdevice. Through menus or interfaces displayed on a screen of the mobilecommunication device, the consumer can request information includingreceipt item details such as description and price, offers, and couponsrelated to a particular good or service and receive the requestedinformation at the mobile communication device. Further aspects ofvarious embodiments are described with reference to FIGS. 1A-10.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-B and FIG. 2, embodiments are directed to systems100 and related methods 200 and articles of manufacture for visualizingreceipt data and receipt-based purchases by a consumer. In theillustrated embodiment, the consumer 110 purchases various goods andservices (G/S) 121 a-d (generally, good 121) from respective merchants120 a-d (generally, merchant 120). References to a “good 121” aredefined to include goods and services, and references to “merchant 120”are defined to include merchants who offer and sell goods and services,including in-store or brick and mortar merchants and on-line merchantsthat sell goods 121 through respective websites. Various types of goods121 may be purchased by the consumer 110, and the consumer 110 maypurchase one or multiple goods 121 from each merchant 120. Examples ofgoods 121 include, but are not limited to, home or house wares,groceries, electronics, home repair, healthcare or personal hygieneitems, clothing, business items, books, etc. It should be understoodthat embodiments may and can involve various types of goods 121 andvarious types and numbers of merchants 120, including four merchants 120a-d (as illustrated in the example shown in FIG. 1A), ten, one hundredand thousands of merchants 120, and that the consumer 110 may purchasegoods 121 from some or all of these merchants 120. Further, while FIG.1A illustrates one consumer 110 and multiple merchants 120, embodimentsmay involve aggregating receipt data from multiple merchants 120 forpurchases made by multiple consumers 110, e.g., two, ten, hundreds,thousands and other numbers of consumers 110, and embodiments can beoperable to provide a dashboard or snapshot of receipts and spending todifferent consumers 110.

With reference to FIG. 2, during a transaction, at stage 205, theconsumer 110 tenders a form of payment 111 to purchase one or more goods121 from each merchant 120. Payment 111 may be made using a transactioncard (e.g., credit card, debit card, gift card, etc.), check, cash andother forms of payment 111. FIG. 1A illustrates one example in which aconsumer 110 tenders payment 111 a-d (generally, 111) to purchaserespective goods 121 a-d (generally, 121) from respective merchants 120a-d (generally, 120). As a result of the transaction, at stage 210, themerchants 120 process their respective transactions utilizing respectivetransaction processing devices 124 a-d (generally, transactionprocessing device 124) and at stage 215, generate consumer receipts 123a-d (generally, consumer receipt 123) and store electronic receipt data125 a-d (generally, receipt data 125).

Depending on the form of payment 111, a merchant 120 processes thetransaction with a transaction processing device 124 such as a Point ofSale (POS) payment terminal, cash register, computer, scanner system,etc. With electronic types of transaction processing devices 124,transaction or receipt data 125 can be stored electronically, and in theevent of a cash payment, the merchant 120 may enter transaction orreceipt data manually in order to generate a consumer receipt 123 andreceipt data 125. Thus, receipt data 125 maintained or stored by amerchant 120 may be in electronic form, and the consumer receipt 123provided to the consumer 110 may be paper and/or in electronic form(e.g., a paper or electronic mail receipt). The receipt data 125 mayinclude a name of the merchant 120, a transaction date, a transactionamount, and information related to the form of payment 111 (e.g., creditcard, debit card, etc.).

At stage 220, receipt data 125 is transmitted from transactionprocessing devices 124 of the merchants 120 to a first or host computer130 (generally, host computer 130) that collects or aggregates receiptdata 125 related to various consumers 110 from respective merchants 120.One example of a host computer 130 that may be utilized for this purposeis a computer or server of Intuit Inc. Receipt data 125 may be collectedand stored at the host computer 130 in a receipt database, table or datastore 132 (generally, receipt database 132). For this purpose,transaction processing devices 124 of merchants 120 are operably coupledto or in communication with the host computer 130 via respectivenetworks 140 a-d (generally, network 140).

Examples of networks 140 that may be utilized for communications betweenthese and other system 100 components include but are not limited to aLocal Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a wireless network, other suitable networks capable oftransmitting data, and a combination of such networks. For ease ofexplanation, reference is made to a network 140 generally, but variousnetworks, combinations of networks and communication systems, methodsand protocols may be utilized in embodiments.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, communications between transactionprocessing devices 124 and the host computer 130 may, for example,involve JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data interchange format andSecure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication protocol or other suitableformats and protocols, and an associated host computer—transactionprocessing device interface 133 a. The same or similar datainterexchange formats and communication protocols and an administrationapplication 133 b may also be used for communications between anadministrator 137 (e.g., an administrator of Intuit Inc.) and the hostcomputer 310.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, receipt data 125 may be sent from respectivetransaction processing devices 124 to the host computer 130 periodically(e.g., daily or weekly), in response to a request for receipt data 125from a receipt program 134 that executes on the host computer 130 (asshown in FIG. 1) or in response to a request from a receipt program 134that executes on an associated computer or server that is operablycoupled to or in communication with the host computer 130. The receiptprogram 134 may be implemented as hardware, software or a combinationthereof, but reference is made to a receipt program 134 for ease ofexplanation. One example of a receipt program 134 that may be utilizedin embodiments is QuickReceipts® of Intuit Inc., and in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1B, the host computer 130 is identified asQuickReceipts® Server.

FIG. 1A illustrates an embodiment in which receipt data 125 is receivedfrom respective transaction processing devices 124, but in other systemembodiments, e.g., as shown in FIG. 1C, one or more retailer or thirdparty or intermediate computers or systems 160 a-c (generally,intermediate computer 160, and otherwise referred to as retailer datasource (RDS) in FIG. 1C) may be used to collect receipt data 125 frommerchants 120 and to provide collected receipt data 125 to the hostcomputer 130.

One example of an intermediate computer or system 160 that may beutilized for this purpose is a computer or system of Afterbot, Inc. Suchan intermediate computer or system 160 may communicate with the hostcomputer 130 through a network 140 f. For this purpose, as shown in FIG.1B, communications between one or more intermediate computers 160 a-c(generally, intermediate computer 160) and the host computer 130 may,for example, involve JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data interchangeformat and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communication protocol or othersuitable formats and protocols and an associated hostcomputer—intermediate computer interface 133 d. Embodiments may involvereceiving receipt data 125 directly from merchants 120, fromintermediate computers 130 that collect the receipt data from merchants120, or both.

Further, although embodiments are described with reference to receiptdata 125 received from merchants 120, receipt data 125 may also be basedon or retrieved from a paper or electronic mail consumer receipt 123.For example, a consumer 110 may scan a paper or e-mail receipt 123 andupload or e-mail the copy or scan to the host computer 130 for inclusionin the database 132. For example, the receipt program 134 may employOptical Character Recognition (OCR) or another suitable text readingsystem to store the receipt data 125 in the database 132. Further, theconsumer 110 can scan paper or e-mail receipts 123 and store them in afolder on the consumer computer 110, and when the consumer 110 connectsto the host computer 130 and launches the receipt program 134, thereceipt program 134 may determine that there is additional receipt datain the folder and upload that data to the host computer 130 forinclusion in the database 132. For ease of explanation, reference ismade to receipt data 125 received from merchants 120, but it should beunderstood that receipt data 125 may also be entered or received fromother sources including the consumer 110 and a third party orintermediate computer 160.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A and 2, at stage 225, in certain embodiments,the receipt data 125 received at the host computer 130 is categorized,e.g., automatically by the receipt program 134 or another program. Atstage 230, the received and/or categorized receipt data 125 is stored inthe receipt database 132, which may be used to aggregate receipt data125 of various consumes 110 from various merchants 120.

Referring to FIG. 3, the collected or received receipt data 125 may bestored in a receipt database 132 that is structured as a table or otherdata structure 300 that includes a first column 301 for identificationof the consumer 110 (e.g., one or more of name, QuickReceipts® accountidentification number, social security number, e-mail address,transaction card number, store card number such as a Best Buy® cardnumber, a number of a card associated with a universal receipt orloyalty program such as QuickReceipts®, or other unique identifyinginformation), a second column 302 for transaction date, and a thirdcolumn 303 for a category or category indicator, and a fourth column 304for various receipts or receipt data 125. For example, receipt data 125of first consumer 110 a may be stored in a receipt database 134according to consumer identification in the form of a supermarket clubcard number, e.g., a Vons card number or a Ralphs card number, receiptdata 125 of a second consumer 110 b may be stored according to consumeridentification in the form of a credit card number, receipt data for athird consumer 110 c may be stored in the receipt database 134 accordingto a rewards card number such as a Best Buy® rewards zone card number,and so on. Thus, various consumer 110 identifiers may be utilized tolink a consumer 110 to particular receipt data 125 stored in thedatabase 134. It should be understood that the table 300 illustrated inFIG. 3 may include other types of data and different numbers of columnsand is provided to generally illustrate that receipt data 125 isassociated with a consumer 110 based on some type of identification.

In certain embodiments, receipt data 125 received at the host computer130 is automatically categorized by the receipt program 134 or anotherprogram. In one embodiment, receipt data 125 can be categorizedaccording to a name or other identifier of a merchant 120. For example,if the receipt data 125 is for a purchase from Home Depot, the receiptprogram 134 may be configured to automatically categorize this purchaseas “home” or “home repair” whereas if the receipt data 125 is for apurchase from Macy's®, the receipt program 134 may be configured toautomatically categorize this purchase as “clothing” or another suitablecategory. In other embodiments, the receipt data 125 includes item levelreceipt data that identifies a particular good 121 by name, description,identification code or number, etc., and a category can be assigned toone or more or all of the goods 121.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 1A and 2, at step 235, the consumer110, through the consumer computer 150, accesses the host computer 130to utilize the receipt program 134 to access and see receipt data 125 inthe database 132. The receipt program 134 may be a desktop version or anon-line version, and the consumer computer 150 may be any suitablecomputing device such as a home computer, work computer, desktop orlaptop computer. In the illustrated embodiment, the receipt program 134is an on-line version that is hosted by the host computer 130, and theconsumer computer 150 is operably coupled to or in communication withthe host computer 130 via a network 140 f. The receipt program 134 canbe accessed or executed utilizing a web browser that executes on theconsumer computer 150. As shown in FIG. 1B, communications between theconsumer computer 150 and the host computer 130 may also involveJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) data interchange format and SecureSockets Layer (SSL) communication protocol or other suitable formats andprotocols and an associated host computer—consumer computercommunications interface 133 d.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, and with further reference to FIGS. 2 and 4,at stage 240, the receipt program 134 generates a user interface ordisplay 136 that is to be presented to the consumer 110 at the consumercomputer 150. At step 245, data 137 of the user interface 136 andrelated receipt data 125 are transmitted from the host computer 130 tothe consumer computer 150, and at step 250, the interface 136, in theform of a thumbnail arrangement 410 of discrete objects 420, isdisplayed to consumer 110 on consumer computer 150. The discrete objects420 represent respective receipts or receipt data 125 (generally,receipts).

In the illustrated embodiment, the thumbnail arrangement 410 includessix discrete objects 420 a-f (generally, discrete object 420) thatrepresent six respective receipts, but it should be understood thatembodiments may involve various other numbers of discrete objects 420.In the illustrated embodiment, each discrete object 420 includes higherlevel receipt data such as a merchant name or identifier 421, atransaction date 422, and a transaction amount 423. In certainembodiments, the merchant name 422 is in the form of a logo. Further, incertain embodiments (although not illustrated in FIG. 4), a discreteobject 420 may include a date by which the good 121 must be returned tothe merchant 120 for an exchange or refund or a date when a warranty forthe good 121 expires is indicated within a discrete object 420.

As shown in the illustrated embodiment, one or more or all of thediscrete objects 420 may have category indicators 430 a-e (generally,category indicator or category 430). The category indicators 430 may becolor-coded and/or symbolic category indicators for categories such asbusiness 430 a, clothing 430 b, home 430 c, health 430 d and taxdeduction 430 e, and one or more of these category indicators 430 may beassigned to one or more discrete objects 420 based on the receipt oritem level receipt data 125 received from the transaction processingdevices 124. A category indicator may also identify a particular brandof a good 121. For example, a category indicator 430 may identifyLevi's® jeans. Categories 430 may be assigned to some, all or none ofthe discrete objects 420.

For example, a first discrete object 420 a includes one categoryindicator 430 a for business, a second discrete object 420 b includes acategory indicator 430 b for clothing, a third discrete object 420 cincludes a category indicator 530 d for health, a fourth discrete object420 d includes a category indicator 530 c for home, and fifth and sixthdiscrete objects 420 e and 420 f include tax deduction indicators 530 e.The discrete objects 430 may also include add (“+”) 440 a and subtract(“−”) 440 b tabs or icons that can be selected by the consumer 110 toadd or delete a category 430.

In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface 136 includes a firstwindow 450 a for the thumbnail arrangement 410, a second window 450 bfor categories 430, and a third window 450 c for spending summary datasuch as a total number of receipts 460 a, a total number of items 460 bacross all receipts, and a total amount spent 460 c on the items or atotal value of all of the receipts. Further, although not illustrated inFIG. 4, but illustrated in other figures, the consumer 110 can selectand view a thumbnail arrangement 410 of discrete objects 420representing corresponding receipts for different periods of time, e.g.,for the past week, past month, past two months, and other periods oftime, and this data may also be presented in another window 450 d (e.g.,as shown in FIG. 6F).

In embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the discrete objects 420 are thesame shape and size and spaced apart from each other to form thethumbnail arrangement 410, which allows a consumer 110 to quickly andeasily visualize or view receipts and to visually recognize andcomprehend spending patterns as opposed to line item transaction datathat does not provide for such visualization, pattern recognition andcomprehension. Thus, with embodiments, a consumer 110 can view adashboard or snapshot of his or her spending and can quickly and easilyvisualize and understand spending patterns without having to read lineitem transaction data. Further, with the thumbnail arrangement 410,consumers 110 can quickly and easily see the frequency of visitingcertain merchants 120.

In other embodiments, an attribute of a discrete object 420, e.g., itsrelative size compared to other discrete objects 420 and/or color, mayindicate a relative amount spent on the goods 121 for that receipt. Forexample, a discrete object 420 representing a receipt having a receipttotal that is greater than a pre-determined or average receipt total maybe larger than other discrete objects 420 in order emphasize thatdiscrete object 420 and indicate to the consumer 110 that the receiptcorresponding to that discrete object 420 reflects purchases of a largenumber of goods or services or one or more big ticket or more expensivegoods or services. Further, a discrete object 420 representing a receipthaving a receipt total that is greater than a pre-determined or averagereceipt total may be a different color or outline (e.g., red), whereasother discrete objects 420 representing receipts having smaller receipttotals may be a different color or outline (e.g., yellow or green).These visual attributes further facilitate the ability of the consumer110 to comprehend spending activities and patterns.

Moreover, discrete objects 420 within the thumbnail arrangement 410 canbe arranged in different ways to indicate relative importance or receiptamounts. For example, in one embodiment, discrete objects 420representing receipts with higher receipt totals are displayed at thetop of the thumbnail arrangement 410, whereas discrete objects 420representing receipts with lower receipt totals are displayed at thebottom of the thumbnail arrangement 410. As another example, discreteobjects 420 representing receipts with higher receipt totals aredisplayed on the left side of the thumbnail arrangement 410, whereasdiscrete objects 420 representing receipts with lower receipt totals aredisplayed at the right side of the thumbnail arrangement 410. Further,discrete objects 420 categorized as “important” or “big ticket” may beat the top or left side of the thumbnail arrangement 410. Thus, discreteobjects 420 can be arranged and displayed to indicate priority,importance and transaction amounts such that the consumer 110 canquickly ascertain which discrete objects may be most significant. Also,discrete objects 420 within the thumbnail arrangement 410 can bearranged such that certain types of goods 121 or discrete objects 420representing receipts from particular merchants 120 are displayed at acertain location and/or emphasized by color and/or size.

Further, the spacing between discrete objects 420 may vary. In certainembodiments, each discrete object 420 is spaced apart from a neighboringor adjacent discrete object, but in other embodiments, e.g., dependingon the number of receipts and corresponding discrete objects 420 and/oron the size or relative sizes of discrete objects 420, one or more orall of the discrete objects 420 may contact a neighboring or adjacentdiscrete object 420.

Further, discrete objects 420 may be presented as a collage. Forexample, multiple overlapping discrete objects 420 can be presented andthe consumer 110 may click on or select various discrete objects to moveor re-position selected discrete objects 420. Further, embodiments mayinvolve displaying overlapping or collage type displays in view ofrelative importance, priority or transaction amounts. For example, in acollage of discrete objects 420, the top discrete objects 420, i.e., thediscrete objects 420 that are most visible to the consumer 110, may berepresent receipts with higher receipt totals or may be categorized as“important” or “big ticket” (or for a particular merchant 120) whereasdiscrete objects 420 that are not so categorized or that have lowerreceipt totals are located at the bottom of the collage such that theconsumer 110 would have to move the visible discrete objects 420 at thetop of the collage in order to access discrete objects 420 that are atlower levels of the collage and that may not be immediately visible orthat are only partially visible. Thus, discrete objects 420 that overlapand that are arranged as a collage may also be arranged and displayed toindicate priority, importance and transaction amounts such that theconsumer 110 can quickly ascertain which discrete objects may be mostsignificant.

Referring to FIG. 5, the user may click on or select individual discreteobjects 420 in order to obtain additional information 500 about thegoods 121 to which a corresponding discrete object 420 and relatedreceipt relates. In the illustrated embodiment, the additionalinformation 500 includes a merchant or store contact information 500 a,a customer identifier 500 b (e.g., number of a transaction, rewards orclub card), a customer name 500 c, a quantity 500 d and description 500e of the good and corresponding category or categories 430, a goodidentification number 500 e (e.g., barcode, model or other number), aprice 500 g of each good, a subtotal 500 h of all goods, tax 500 i, atotal amount 500 j, and payment method 500 k. Thus, a single discreteobject 120 representing a receipt for multiple goods 121 may includemultiple category indicators 530, and the additional or lower level oritem level receipt data 500 may show particular categories 530 assignedto particular goods 121. In this manner, embodiments, providemulti-level categorization at both the discrete object 420 level and ata more detailed or item level.

Referring to FIGS. 6A-M, screen shots generated by the receipt program134 illustrate one manner in which embodiments may be implemented. Thescreen shots are generated by a QuickReceipts® from Intuit Inc, but itshould be understood that embodiments are not so limited.

FIGS. 6A-B illustrate screen shots that are presented to the consumer110 to allow the consumer 110 to sign up for or opt into receiptmanagement utilizing the receipt program 134. FIG. 6A illustrates aninitial screen shot introducing the consumer to QuickReceipts®. Byclicking “Get Started Now” 602 the consumer 110 advances to the screenshown in FIG. 6B, which includes menus or fields 604 a-h for consumerdata used to create a QuickReceipts® account such as menus or fields forfirst name, last name, e-mail address, user ID, password, and a securityquestion and answer.

Referring to FIG. 6C, after initially creating a QuickReceipts® account,a screen shot of steps for the consumer 110 to follow to identifymerchants 120 from whom receipt data 125 should be received or receiptdata 125 that should be processed if the receipt data 125 is alreadycollected and aggregated at the host computer 130. For this purpose, theconsumer 110 may select a store or merchant 120 from a list, and withfurther reference to FIG. 6D, the consumer 110 is asked to confirm hisor her identity and to provide a link to receipts from the selectedmerchant 120. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6D, asample receipt from “Peek . . . Aren't Your Curious” is displayed, andthe consumer 110 is requested to enter a “Curious Crew number” 606 a(e.g., a number of a Peek . . . Aren't You Curious® rewards ormembership card as an unique consumer identification), the date of thepurchase 606 b, and a transaction amount 606 c. This links the receiptprogram 134 to this particular merchant 120 such that receipt data 125will now be sent from Peek . . . Aren't You Curious® to the hostcomputer 130 for inclusion in the receipt database 132.

Referring to FIG. 6E, after receiving the requested data, and after thereceipt data 125 is retrieved (if necessary), QuickReceipts® searchesreceipts of Peek . . . Aren't You Curious®, and referring to FIG. 6F,displays a discrete object 420 representing the receipt for an actualpurchase of a good 121 by the consumer 110 from this particular merchant120. In the illustrated embodiment, the user interface 136 includes fourwindows or sections 450 a-d—a window 450 d for selecting receipts forthe past 30 days or 90 days (or other time period), a window 450 b forcategories 430 (e.g., Important, Big Ticket, Business, Clothing,Cosmetics, Electronics, Groceries, Healthcare, Home, Tax Related andother categories), and a window 450 a for the thumbnail arrangement 410of discrete objects 420 (one discrete object is shown in FIG. 6F)representing receipts. In the illustrated embodiment, the discreteobject 420 includes a logo 608 of “Peek . . . Aren't You Curious”, atransaction date 422 of Sep. 2, 2009, and a transaction amount 423 of$37.91. The discrete object 420 also includes a “Return Within” field610 that indicates the number of days in which the good 121 can bereturned to the merchant 120 for a refund or exchange. Further, thediscrete object 420 includes a category indicator which, in thisexample, is a “+” indicator 440 a that allows the consumer to add acategory to the discrete object 420 to associate one or more goodsrelated to that discrete object 420 with that category. Further, thewindow 450 c includes a spending summary for the displayed discreteobject 120, e.g., a total number of receipts 460 a (which in thisexample is “1”), a total number of items 460 b (also “1” in thisexample) and a total amount spent 460 c ($37.91 in this example).

Referring to FIG. 6G, the consumer 110 selecting or clicking on thediscrete object 120 representing the receipt from Peek . . . Aren't YouCurious® results in displaying lower level, or item level, details aboutthe good 121 on this receipt to the consumer 110. In the illustratedembodiment, the interface includes three windows—a window 450 d forselecting whether to display receipts from this merchant 110 from thelast 30 days or other numbers of days, a window 450 b including thecategories 430, and a window 612 with additional receipt data.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, additional receipt dataincludes a transaction date 500 l, a name or contact information of themerchant 500 a (e.g., store number, address, cashier number) atransaction number 500 m, an identification 500 b of the consumer (e.g.,a number of the store or rewards card of the consumer), the name 500 cof the consumer, a quantity 500 d and description 500 e of the goodspurchased, a category 430 of the good, an item number 500 f, price 500g, subtotal 500 h, tax 500 i and total 500 j. The additional informationmay also include a payment method 500 k (e.g., debit card, credit card,etc.), and the account number of the transaction card, and a barcode 500n or other identifier that identifies a particular good 121 or aparticular receipt or transaction.

Thus, with embodiments, a consumer 110 can view the thumbnailarrangement 410, quickly determine spending data and spending patternsbased on the discrete objects 420 shown (one discrete object is shown inFIG. 6F), and as necessary, click on or select a discrete object 420 todisplay additional or lower level receipt information (e.g., as shown inFIG. 6G). Further, the consumer 110 can click on or select a category430 in the window 450 b to display receipt data that relates to aparticular category for purposes of money management and spendinganalysis.

FIGS. 6H-J illustrate a more detailed example of how embodiments may beimplemented. Referring to FIG. 6H, the consumer 110 may selectadditional stores or merchants 120 from whom receipt data 125 related topurchases by the consumer 110 is to be collected and stored in thedatabase 132 and processed with the receipt program 134 such asQuickReceipts®. In the illustrated embodiment, the consumer 110 canselect from five stores—Smart & Final® 614 a, Peek . . . Aren't YourCurious® 614 b, Best Buy® 614 c, World Market® 614 d and Dillard's° 614e. It should be understood that embodiments may involve various numbersof merchants 120, and that five merchants 120 are illustrated in FIG. 6Hfor purposes of explanation and illustration, not limitation.

The consumer 110 may select some or all of the available merchants 120.In the illustrated embodiment, the consumer 110 has selected two stores(indicated by check marks)—Smart & Final® 614 a and Peek . . . Aren'tYour Curious® 614 b. Thus, the receipt program 134 such asQuickReceipts® searches the database 134 or retrieves receipt data 125from the merchants 120 to identify receipts from the selected merchants614 a and 614 b. Referring to FIG. 6I, the receipt program 134 isoperable to display a thumbnail arrangement 410 of four discrete objects420 a-d that represent three receipts from Smart & Final® 614 a and onereceipt from Peek . . . Aren't You Curious® 614 b. The thumbnailarrangement 410 is displayed in a window 450 a and a window 450 cincludes a spending summary including a total number of receipts 460 a(4), a total number of items 460 b (7) and a total amount of allreceipts 460 c ($48.69), another window 450 d that allows the consumer110 to view receipt data 125 within the last 30 days or other numbers ofdays, and window 450 e allows the consumer 110 to select which merchants120 should be selected (e.g., selecting Smart & Final® 614 a will resultin display of three discrete objects 420 a, 420 c and 420 d) for thethree Smart & Final® receipts, whereas selecting Peek . . . Aren't YouInterested will result in display of the one discrete object 420 b), anda window 450 b for categories 430. In the illustrated embodiment, eachof the discrete objects 410 a-d is assigned at least one category 430,and the consumer 110, as part of money management or spending analysis,may also select a particular category 430, and discrete objects 420having corresponding category 430 indicators are then displayed to theconsumer 110.

Referring to FIG. 6H, when the consumer 110 selects or clicks on adiscrete object 420 such as discrete object 420 (in the amount of$4.27), the related lower or item level receipt data 125 correspondingto the Smart & Final® receipt represented by that discrete object 120 ais displayed. In the illustrated embodiment, the discrete object 120 arepresents a receipt for the purchase of three goods (identified underthe “description” 500 e column): El Guapo Menudo Mix, water, and water,and having respective item numbers (identified under the “item#” 500 fcolumn) and prices (identified under the “price” 500 g column). Otheraspects of the interface are the same as or similar to aspects describedwith reference to other figures.

FIGS. 6K-M illustrate yet another example of an embodiment of aninterface including a thumbnail arrangement 410 of discrete objects thatrepresent receipts. Referring to FIG. 6K, the consumer 110 may selectadditional stores or merchants 120 from whom receipt data 125 related tothe consumer 110 is to be collected and processed using the receiptprogram 134 such as QuickReceipts®. In the illustrated embodiment, theconsumer 110 has selected seven different merchants or stores 120: BestBuy®, World Market®, Staples, Barnes & Noble, Sport Chalet, Dillards®and PetSmart®. It should be understood that embodiments may involvevarious numbers of stores, and that seven stores are illustrated forpurposes of explanation and illustration, not limitation. As a result,the receipt program 134 such as QuickReceipts® searches the receipt data125 of these seven stores that were received at the host computer 130and stored in the database 134 and displays the thumbnail arrangement140 of ten discrete objects 140 a-m that represent four receipts fromBest Buy®, one receipt from World Market®, two receipts from Staples,one receipt from Barnes & Noble®, one receipt from Sport Chalet®, onereceipt from Dillard's® and two receipts from Pet Smart®. The thumbnailarrangement 410 may be displayed in a window together with a spendingsummary and a windows 450 d that allows the consumer 110 to view receiptdata within the last 30 days or other numbers of days, a window 450 ethat allows the consumer 110 to select which stores should be selected(e.g., selecting Best Buy® will result in display of four discreteobjects 410 a-c and 410 j for the four Best Buy® receipts), and a window450 b for categories 430.

As shown in FIG. 6K, a category 430 is assigned to certain discreteobjects 410 a, 410 c, 410 f, but not the other discrete objects. Forexample, the consume 110 may assign an “important” category, identifiedby an indicator or symbol such as a star 618 a, to the discrete object410 a for Best Buy® to indicate that the consumer 110 considers thisreceipt or a related good 121 purchased from Best Buy® to beparticularly important. As another example, the consume 110 may assign a“Big Ticket Purchases” category 618 b to a different discrete object 410c to indicate that the good 121 identified on this receipt and purchasedfrom Best Buy® is a big ticket or expensive item, e.g., such as a homeappliance, television or computer. “Tax” category 618 c may be assignedto another discrete object 410 f to indicate that the good 121identified on that receipt and purchased from Staples may be taxdeductible.

FIG. 6K also illustrates a search field 620 that may be utilized by theconsumer 110 to enter search terms (e.g., types of products, storenames, etc.), such that the discrete object 410 having receipt data 125,including lower level or item level receipt data 125, that matches thesearch terms will be displayed to the consumer 110 who can then selector drill down to item level receipt detail until the desired informationis obtained.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6K-L, the consumer 110 may switchbetween different interface views. In the illustrated embodiment, theconsumer 110 may switch between a thumbnail arrangement 410 of discreteobjects 420 (as shown in FIG. 6K) and a non thumbnail arrangement suchas a line item view 630 having multiple line items 640 a-I (generallyline item 640) for different receipts (as shown in FIG. 6L). This may behelpful in situations when the thumbnail arrangement 410 is suitable forparticular views or spending pattern determinations by the consumer 110,whereas the line item view 630 may be more appropriate in othersituations, e.g., if the consumer 110 wants to view receipt data 125 inchronological or reverse chronological order (as shown in FIG. 6L).Thus, embodiments, in contrast to known systems, allow for differenttypes of views and switching between a non-line item arrangement such asa thumbnail arrangement 410 of discrete objects 420 representingreceipts and a line item view 630 to enhance the ability of the user toview and analyze receipt data and spending. When the consumer 110selects or clicks on a discrete object 420 (as shown in FIG. 6K) or aline item 640 (as shown in Fig. L) results in displaying lower level, oritem level, details about the good(s) on the receipt corresponding tothe selected object 420 or line item 640.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8A-1 and 9, other embodiments, which may be standalone embodiments or utilized with embodiments described with referenceto FIGS. 1-6L, are directed to systems 700 and methods 800 for providinginformation about a good 121 to a mobile communication device 710. Thesystem 700 includes system components described with reference to FIG.1A including a host computer 130 that receives receipt data 125 fromvarious merchants 120, and a mobile communication device 710, such as acellular telephone, smartphone and other suitable mobile computing orcommunication device (generally, mobile communication device 810) thatis in communication with the host computer via a network 140 g.

With further reference to FIG. 9, prior to use of the mobilecommunication device 710, at stages 905-930 (which are the same as orsimilar to steps 205-230 described with reference to FIG. 2), theconsumer 110 tenders payment 111 to purchase a goods 121 from respectivemerchants 120, the merchants 120 process respective transactionsutilizing respective transaction processing devices 124, generaterespective receipts 123 and receipt data 125, transmit receipt data 125from respective transaction processing devices 124 to the host computer130 on which the receipt program 134 executes, and the receipt data 125,which may be categorized, is stored in the database 132 on the hostcomputer 130. At some later time, at stage 935, the consumer 110launches an application 712 on the mobile communication device 710 toaccess the host computer 130 via the network 140 g and/or to utilize thereceipt program 134 to retrieve certain receipt data 125 stored in thedatabase 134 at stage 940. At stage 945, the consumer 110 requestsreceipt data 125 with the application 712 executing on the mobilecommunication device 710.

For example, referring to FIG. 8A, the application 712 may generate aninterface or page 800 that is displayed on a screen of the mobilecommunication device 710 and that allows the consumer 110 to selectcriteria that will be used to conduct a search for receipt data 215. Forexample, in the illustrated embodiment, the interface may includeoptions for looking up receipt data 215 by merchant, category,transaction ate, amount, item description or keyword search. Selectingone of these categories may result in display of a page withcorresponding merchant 802 a (FIG. 8B), category 802 b (FIG. 8C),transaction date 802 c (FIG. 8D), transaction amount 802 d (FIG. 8E),item description 802 e (FIG. 8F) and a search field for keywords 802 f(FIG. 8G). Continuing with the example in which the consumer 110 decidesto search for receipt data 125 related to a good 121 purchased from aparticular merchant 120 (as shown in FIG. 8B), the consumer 110 mayselect Best Buy® (as indicated by darkened or selected circle) such thatthe next page 812 a (e.g., as shown in FIG. 8H) may be displayed by theapplication 712 to the consumer 110. As shown in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8G, the page 812 a may listed the various goods 121purchased by the consumer 110 from Best Buy® as indicated by priorreceipt data 125 previously received by the host computer 130 from BestBuy®. At stage 950, the receipt program 134 searches the database 134for the requested receipt data 125, and at stage 955, assuming therequested data 125 is located, it is sent from the host computer 130 tothe to mobile communication device 710 via network 140 g and displayedon the screen of the mobile communication device 710 to the consumer 110

As an example of how embodiments may be utilized and assist consumers110, a consumer 110 may be at a store purchasing a component for ahousehold item such as a bag for a vacuum. The consumer 110, however,upon seeing various available vacuum bags, is not certain of the vacuumbrand or model number such that the proper vacuum bag cannot beidentified. However, with embodiments, the consumer 110 can launch thereceipt data application 712 on a mobile communication device 710 tosearch the receipt data 215 for the brand and/or model number of thevacuum purchased from Best Buy® such that the consumer can select thecorrect type of vacuum bag. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS.8H-I, for example, the consumer 110 may recall purchasing the vacuumfrom Best Buy® and navigate menus or pages generated by the application712 to arrive at the listing of goods 121 purchased from Best Buy® asshown in FIG. 8H. The consumer may then select “Hoover® Vacuum” to viewadditional data about the vacuum, including a model number, as shown inFIG. 8I.

In the illustrated embodiment, the brand and type of good 121 arepresented to the consumer in the page or screen 812 a, but in otherembodiments, more or less information about the various goods 121 may bepresented, and if the information presented in this page does not answerthe consumer's question, the consumer 110 can select a particular good121 to retrieve additional information as shown in FIG. 8I. Thus,embodiments allow for remote lookup of receipt data 125, including itemlevel receipt data such as a model number, utilizing a mobilecommunication device 710 that is in communication with the host computer130.

FIG. 10 generally illustrates components of a computing device 1000 thatmay be utilized to execute embodiments and that includes a memory 1010,account processing program instructions 1012, a processor or controller1020 to execute account processing program instructions 1012, a networkor communications interface 1030, e.g., for communications with anetwork or interconnect 1040 between such components. The memory 1010may be or include one or more of cache, RAM, ROM, SRAM, DRAM, RDRAM,EEPROM and other types of volatile or non-volatile memory capable ofstoring data. The processor unit 1020 may be or include multipleprocessors, a single threaded processor, a multi-threaded processor, amulti-core processor, or other type of processor capable of processingdata. Depending on the particular system component (e.g., whether thecomponent is a computer or a hand held mobile communications device),the interconnect 1040 may include a system bus, LDT, PCI, ISA, or othertypes of buses, and the communications or network interface may, forexample, be an Ethernet interface, a Frame Relay interface, or otherinterface. The network interface 1030 may be configured to enable asystem component to communicate with other system components across anetwork which may be a wireless or various other networks. It should benoted that one or more components of computing device 1000 may belocated remotely and accessed via a network. Accordingly, the systemconfiguration provided in FIG. 10 is provided to generally illustratehow embodiments may be configured and implemented.

Method embodiments may also be embodied in, or readable from, acomputer-readable medium or carrier, e.g., one or more of the fixedand/or removable data storage data devices and/or data communicationsdevices connected to a computer. Carriers may be, for example, magneticstorage medium, optical storage medium and magneto-optical storagemedium. Examples of carriers include, but are not limited to, a floppydiskette, a memory stick or a flash drive, CD-R, CD-RW, CD-ROM, DVD-R,DVD-RW, or other carrier now known or later developed capable of storingdata. The processor 1020 performs steps or executes program instructions1012 within memory 1010 and/or embodied on the carrier to implementmethod embodiments. Further, embodiments may reside and execute on amobile communication device 710 such as a cellular telephone orsmartphone.

Although particular embodiments have been shown and described, it shouldbe understood that the above discussion is not intended to limit thescope of these embodiments. While embodiments and variations of the manyaspects of the invention have been disclosed and described herein, suchdisclosure is provided for purposes of explanation and illustrationonly. Thus, various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims.

For example, while certain embodiments are described with reference to areceipt program such as QuickReceipts®, embodiments may also beimplemented by or using other receipt programs, which may also bedesktop or on-line programs. Further, while embodiments are describedwith reference to an individual consumer, embodiments may also beapplied to multiple consumers, which may be individual and/or businessconsumers. Thus, the receipt database may include receipt data forhundreds and thousands of different consumers, each of which maypurchase goods or services from various merchants, the receipt data fromwhich is stored in the receipt database, and receipt data may beaggregated, e.g., within a database managed by Intuit Inc., for variousconsumers and for various merchants for use in embodiments

Further, receipt data that is sent to the host computer can be storedbased on various types of purchase including, but not limited to, creditcard, debit card, check, electronic check, ATM withdrawal, ACH and otherforms of electronic transactions. Receipt data that is sent to the hostcomputer may also be generated as a result of cash purchases, and paperreceipts can be scanned and processed for inclusion in the receiptdatabase.

It should be understood that while certain mobile communication deviceinterfaces or pages are described, the number of pages, menus or optionsand arrangement and menu and option items may vary. Thus, examplesinvolving navigation of menu pages based on a merchant name followed bygoods purchased from that merchant are provided to illustrate one mannerin which embodiments may be implemented, and other embodiments mayinvolve navigation through other pages based on other search criteriaand data.

Further, the number, arrangement, and spacing of discrete objects of athumbnail arrangement may vary. Moreover, it should be understood thatcertain discrete objects can be emphasized to indicate their importance,e.g., by one or more of color, shape, size and position or location of adiscrete object.

Further, where methods and steps described above indicate certain eventsoccurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the art havingthe benefit of this disclosure would recognize that the ordering ofcertain steps may be modified and that such modifications are inaccordance with the variations of the invention. Additionally, certainof the steps may be performed concurrently in a parallel process whenpossible, as well as performed sequentially.

Accordingly, embodiments are intended to exemplify alternatives,modifications, and equivalents that may fall within the scope of theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of manufacture comprising anon-transitory computer program carrier readable by a computer andembodying one or more instructions executable by the computer to performa method for visually presenting spending activity to a consumer, themethod comprising: receiving respective receipt data from respectivetransaction processing devices of respective merchants, the respectivereceipt data identifying purchases of respective goods or services bythe consumer from respective merchants; and generating a user interfacedisplayed to the consumer, the user interface comprising a thumbnailarrangement of a plurality of discrete objects, the plurality ofdiscrete objects representing respective receipts generated byrespective transaction processing devices, each discrete objectcomprising object data related to at least one good or service purchasedby the consumer from a merchant, a first field comprising a total numberof receipts represented by the plurality of discrete objects, a secondfield comprising a sum of respective numbers of goods or servicesidentified by respective receipt data, and a third field comprising asum of respective total amounts of respective purchases identified byrespective receipt data, the discrete objects being separated from thefirst field, the second field and the third field.
 2. The article ofmanufacture of claim 1, at least one discrete object representing areceipt generated in response to the consumer purchasing a good orservice with a transaction card.
 3. The article of manufacture of claim1, at least one discrete object representing a receipt generated inresponse to the consumer purchasing a good or service with cash.
 4. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 1, wherein additional information abouta particular good or service is displayed when a discrete objectrepresenting a receipt for the particular good or service is selected.5. The article of manufacture of claim 4, the additional informationcomprising an account number of a transaction card, a store membershipcard or a rewards card that was utilized during the purchase of the goodor service.
 6. The article of manufacture of claim 4, the additionalinformation comprising item level receipt data related to the good orservice.
 7. The article of manufacture of claim 6, the item levelreceipt data comprising an indicator of a category of the good orservice.
 8. The article of manufacture of claim 6, the item levelreceipt data comprising a name, a description, a model or part number oran identification of the good or service.
 9. The article of manufactureof claim 1, each discrete object including at least one indicator of acategory of a good or service to which the corresponding receiptrelates.
 10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, the at least oneindicator comprising a color-coded or symbolic indicator.
 11. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 1, at least one discrete objectcomprising a logo of a merchant.
 12. The article of manufacture of claim1, each discrete object comprising a name of a merchant, a transactionamount and a transaction date.
 13. The article of manufacture of claim1, at least one discrete object comprising a number of days within whicha purchased good can be returned to the merchant.
 14. The article ofmanufacture of claim 1, the user interface comprising a first windowincluding the thumbnail arrangement of the plurality of discreteobjects, a second window comprising a list of merchants that generatedreceipts represented as discrete objects, and a third window comprisinga list of categories.
 15. The article of manufacture of claim 1, whereinall receipt-based purchases by the consumers are displayed as respectivediscrete objects of the thumbnail arrangement.
 16. The article ofmanufacture of claim 1, the plurality of discrete objects of thethumbnail arrangement being grouped together to provide a visualsnapshot of spending by the consumer.
 17. The article of manufacture ofclaim 1, the user interface comprising a search field to allow theconsumer to search for receipt data.
 18. The article of manufacture ofclaim 1, the item level receipt data being searchable by the consumer.19. The article of manufacture of claim 18, the item level receipt datacomprising a name, a model or a description of the good or service. 20.The article of manufacture of claim 1, the non-transitory computerprogram carrier embodying one or more further instructions executable bythe computer to perform further method steps comprising: searchingreceipt data; selecting receipt data; and transmitting selected receiptdata to a mobile communication device.
 21. The article of manufacture ofclaim 20, the selected receipt data being related to a return period, awarranty period or a recall of the good or service.
 22. The article ofmanufacture of claim 20, the non-transitory computer program carrierembodying one or more further instructions executable by the computer toperform a further method step comprising receiving a request from themobile communication device for data related to the good or servicepurchased by the consumer, wherein receipt data is selected and sentfrom the first computer to the mobile communication device in responseto the request.
 23. The article of manufacture of claim 22, the requestcomprising a request for item level receipt data, and the responsecomprising the requested item level receipt data.
 24. The article ofmanufacture of claim 23, the item level receipt data relating to a modelnumber or a purchase date of the good or service, and the responsecomprising the requested model number or the purchase date.
 25. Anarticle of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer programcarrier readable by a computer and embodying one or more instructionsexecutable by the computer to perform a method for visually presentingspending activity to a consumer, the method comprising: receivingrespective receipt data from respective transaction processing devicesof respective merchants, the respective receipt data identifyingpurchases of respective goods or services by the consumer fromrespective merchants; and generating a user interface displayed to theconsumer, the user interface comprising: a thumbnail arrangement of aplurality of discrete objects representing respective receipts generatedby respective transaction processing devices, each discrete objectcomprising object data related to at least one good or service purchasedby the consumer from a merchant, at least one discrete object comprisinga category indicator while not identifying a particular good or service,a first field comprising a total number of receipts represented by theplurality of discrete objects, a second field comprising a sum ofrespective numbers of goods or services identified by respective receiptdata, and a third field comprising a sum of respective total amounts ofrespective purchases identified by respective receipt data.
 26. Anarticle of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer programcarrier readable by a computer and embodying one or more instructionsexecutable by the computer to perform a method for visually presentingspending activity to a consumer, the method comprising: receivingrespective electronic receipt data from respective transactionprocessing devices of respective merchants, the respective electronicreceipt data identifying purchases of respective goods or services bythe consumer from respective merchants; and generating a user interfacedisplayed to the consumer, the user interface comprising: a first viewcomprising a thumbnail arrangement of a plurality of discrete objectsthat represent respective receipts generated by respective transactionprocessing devices, the thumbnail arrangement comprising: a first fieldcomprising a total number of receipts represented by the plurality ofdiscrete objects, a second field comprising a sum of respective numbersof goods or services identified by respective receipt data, and a thirdfield receipt program and comprising a sum of respective total amountsof respective purchases identified by respective receipt data, thediscrete objects being separated from the first field, the second fieldand the third field; and a second view displayed in response toselection or opening of a discrete object displayed in the first view,wherein an indicator of a category of spending activity of the consumeris displayed in both the first view and in the second view, the userinterface being displayable to the consumer.
 27. The article ofmanufacture of claim 26, the category indicator comprising a color-codedor symbolic indicator.
 28. The article of manufacture of claim 26, thefirst view and the second view each comprising a plurality of categoryindicators of spending activity of the consumer.
 29. The article ofmanufacture of claim 26, the second view having more information andmore types of information about spending activity of the consumercompared to object data displayed in the first view.
 30. The article ofmanufacture of claim 26, each discrete object comprising a portion ofdata of information included in a paper receipt provided to the consumerfor purchase of a good or service from a merchant.
 31. The article ofmanufacture of claim 26, at least one discrete object of the first viewcomprising a category indicator but not identifying any particular goodor service.
 32. The article of manufacture of claim 26, at least onediscrete object comprising a plurality of category indicators but notidentifying a particular good or service.
 33. An article of manufacturecomprising a non-transitory computer program carrier readable by acomputer and embodying one or more instructions executable by thecomputer to perform a method for visually presenting spending activityto a consumer, the method comprising: receiving respective electronicreceipt data from respective transaction processing devices ofrespective merchants, the respective electronic receipt data identifyingpurchases of respective goods or services by the consumer fromrespective merchants; and generating a user interface displayed to theconsumer, the user interface comprising: a first view generated by thereceipt program and comprising a thumbnail arrangement of a plurality ofdiscrete objects that represent respective receipts generated byrespective transaction processing devices, the thumbnail arrangementcomprising: a first field comprising a total number of receiptsrepresented by the plurality of discrete objects, a second fieldcomprising a sum of respective numbers of goods or services identifiedby respective receipt data, and a third field comprising a sum ofrespective total amounts of respective purchases identified byrespective receipt data, the discrete objects being separated from thefirst field, the second field and the third field; and a second viewdisplayed in response to selection or opening of an discrete object ofthe first view, wherein an indicator of a category of spending activityof the consumer is displayed in both the first view and the second view,and item-level data identifying a particular good or service purchasedby the consumer is displayed in the second view but not the first view.34. The article of manufacture of claim 33, the category indicatorcomprising a color-coded or symbolic indicator.
 35. The article ofmanufacture of claim 33, a plurality of category indicators beingdisplayed in the first view and in the second view.
 36. The article ofmanufacture of claim 33, wherein more information and more types ofinformation about spending activity of the consumer are displayed in thesecond view compared to object data in the first view.
 37. The articleof manufacture of claim 33, each discrete object comprising a portion ofdata of information included in a paper receipt provided to the consumerfor purchase of a good or service from a merchant.
 38. The article ofmanufacture of claim 33, at least one discrete object displayed in thefirst view comprising a category indicator but not identifying anyparticular good or service.
 39. The article of manufacture of claim 33,at least one discrete object comprising a plurality of categoryindicators but not identifying a particular good or service.
 40. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 33, wherein the category indicator isdisplayed in a discrete object displayed in the first view and in thesecond view generated by selection of the discrete object.